Neurophysiologic and quantitative sensory testing in the diagnosis of trigeminal neuropathy and neuropathic pain

Abstract

This study investigated the utility of neurophysiologic examination and thermal quantitative sensory testing (QST) in the diagnosis of trigeminal neuropathy and neuropathic pain. Fifty-eight patients (14 men), 34 with sensory deficit within the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) and 24 within the lingual nerve (LN) distribution, were included. Twenty-six patients (45%) reported neuropathic pain. Patients underwent blink reflex (BR) test and thermal QST; sensory neurography was done to the IAN patients. Results of clinical sensory testing were available from the charts of 48 patients revealing abnormal findings in 77% of the IAN and in 94% of the LN patients. The BR test was abnormal in 41%, neurography in 96%, and QST in 91% of the IAN patients. In the LN group, BR was abnormal in 33%, and QST in 100% of the patients tested. Neurophysiologic tests and QST verified the subjective sensory alteration in all but 2 IAN patients, both with old injuries, and 4 LN patients who did not undergo QST. When abnormal, thermal QST showed elevation of warm and cold detection thresholds (hypo/anesthesia), hypoalgesia was less marked, and heat allodynia was only occasionally present. Contralateral thermal hypoesthesia after unilateral injury was found in 14 patients. It was associated with the occurrence of neuropathic pain ( P=0.016). Axonal Aβ afferent damage was less severe in the IAN patients with pain than in those without pain ( P=0.012). Neurophysiologic tests and thermal QST provide sensitive tools for accurate diagnosis of trigeminal neuropathy and study of pathophysiological features characteristic to human neuropathic pain.